Lang Kwai Fong is the famous nightlife district in Hong Kong. It is said that 65% of Lan Kwai Fong is owned by one individual, Allen Zeman, a German-Canadian – also Jewish, who in 1983 opened the first Western restaurant in the area. A year later in 1984 after he opened California Restaurant, he bought the entire block. Today, he is known as the Father of Lan Kwai Fong.

That’s me drinking a beer inside a Starbucks Coffee in Lan Kwai Fong. It was the only place I could find with WIFI for my iPhone. Just a little tip – you can use the internet there for up to 20 minutes for free without buying anything.

A  sample of the international crowd of Hong Kong in Lan Kwai Fong.

More crowds. As you can see, the streets have a steep grade. The hilly streets can be tiring if you walk around a lot, but it adds a lot of character to this area.

Looking down one of the main streets of Lan Kwai Fong.

Busy street in Lan Kwai Fong. It can get really crowded on the weekends despite the streets being closed off to vehicles. Lan Kwai Fong received notoriety New Year’s 1992 when 21 people died here from being overcrowded.

We finally ended up at Yumla, a very small bar tucked away from the main streets of Lan Kwai Fong recommended by my friend Daniel. It turned out to be the highlight of the night with a great local crowd and good house music.

We had to walk down some alleys to get there.

Local hang out spot for food after the bars. Lots of noodles.

The rear of a typical Toyota taxi in Hong Kong. Most seat 5. This photo was taken with my 아이폰.

If you like traveling with animals and birds, you may be better off taking the train or renting a car (surcharge fees itemized in the chart above). The fees were made very clear inside this taxi.

Taxi fares were fairly reasonable, although the fares can add up real quick if you don’t like walking around in hot and humid weather in Hong Kong. A 10 minute taxi ride will cost about $4 or $5 USD.

We didn’t run into any taxi drivers trying to swindle us in Hong Kong. The worst taxi drivers (swindlers) I’ve encountered were in Shanghai, China. The second worst in Kuala Lumpur, Maylasia.

Here’s a typical Toyota taxi turning in an intersection in Hong Kong. For some reason, almost every taxi in Hong Kong is a late 80’s early 90’s Toyota sedan. Actually a really comfortable ride.

Interior of a Hong Kongese Toyota taxi. Steering wheels are on the right side and you drive on the left side of the road in Hong Kong.  The transmission shifter is on the steering column of the wheel instead of the floor, hence the extra seat in the cab.

Lots of Toyota taxis backed up in traffic in Hong Kong.

Night time view of the Hong Kong skyline. I took this photo while taking the the Star Ferry across the harbor. Fun little ride for less than a dollar.

I enjoyed Hong Kong. It’s a very international city – you’ll walk around hearing languages from all over the world. The weather was really warm … high 80’s with high humidity. You can’t stop sweating even wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Geographically not as big as I had expected, and surprisingly convenient to get around from place to place.

Public transportation is cheap and convenient. We took the train which took 30 minutes from inside the airport to a 10 minute ride to the hotel. A 10 minute taxi in Hong Kong will run a few dollars to $5 USD. You can get from the heart of downtown Hong Kong to the airport 40-60 km away and at your gate within an hour if you hustle.

Walking around Hong Kong, you can tell it is the financial center of China. The streets are full of banks, skyscrapers, designer stores, and lots and lots of high-end wrist-watch stores. Only seeing a fraction of Hong Kong, I ran across several large Louis Vuitton stores and maybe a dozen Rolex dealers.

Hong Kong can be expensive. Most hotels in our district cost $200-$500 per night, although we got a good deal. Nightlife is pricey. Beers run $8-$10 USD, and mixed drinks cost $13-$20 USD.

Aerial photo of Hong Kong in our landing approach. Small islands connected by well developed infrastructure.

Daytime photo of water surrounding Hong Kong.

Typical street in Hong Kong. Lots of skyscrapers, buses, and taxis.

View from my hotel room in Hong Kong from the 23rd floor. I stayed at the Island Pacific Hotel. For $65 USD per night, it was decent –  the best deal I could find. Most other hotels within this location were at least $150 USD per night. Thirty minute train ride to the airport, and within a 10 minute cab ride anywhere else.

This is a street view in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Lots of money in the area. The famous Peninsula Hotel is located down the street from here. We had a drink at the rooftop bar called Felix at the Peninsula Hotel. Nice and fancy, but a little boring. We headed to Lan Kwai Fong afterwards, the nightlife district very close to our hotel and had a blast.

Walking the bridge to the entrance of Yuyuan Garden.

Admission is 40 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children that are less than 1.4 meters tall. (?? What if you are a giant 10 year old?)

Inside Yuyuan Garden.

A couple fellow tourists admiring the garden.

Nice picture.

That’d be pretty cool house to live in.

Nifty fountain close to the entrance of Yuyuan Garden.

Entrance to the compound that surrounds Yuyuan Garden among other touristy areas.

Commercial street alongside Yuyuan Garden.

Starbucks somehow just barely made it in the picture again.

Center courtyard at Jade Buddha Temple with visitors meditating and praying.

FYI, ticket price for Jade Buddha Temple is 20 yuan. But, an opportunist decided to put the actual jade Buddhas in a separate area. Tickets for the actual jade Buddhas at the Jade Buddha Temple are available at the far corner of the compound for an additional 10 yuan. You have to buy it from a shady looking Chinese guy.

Smaller house within the compound.

Mom is happy, Dad is really upset.

Golden.

Cool Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

Buddha – chill and relaxed.

A weird dog/gargoyle/monster.

Koi fish pond at the temple.

Before deplaning in Shanghai, China, everyone onboard is subject to the army of Chinese airport security wielding temperature reading guns.

Even the pretty Asian Airlines flight attendant got the same treatment.

The Chinese Swine Influenza Troops deplaning after a satisfactory inspection.

Chinese flags proudly displayed in the customs inspection area. By the way, all the photos in this entry were taken with my iPhone.

Terminal 1 at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Chinese Customs Declarations Counter in Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Huge advertisement for Buick near ticketing at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China. Buick is actually a popular brand with status in China, as some of you may know. Hard for Americans to imagine. In fact, I even saw several cheap Chinese cars with counterfeit Buick hood ornaments stuck on them.

Typical taxi in Shanghai, China. All taxis have the protective plexiglass shield around the driver. Makes sense after personally seeing lots of aggressive behavior in China. Additionally, just about every taxi is a 10-20 year old Volkswagen. Every other car on the road besides taxis are also Volkswagens for some reason.  Taxi fares were reasonable about 60% of the time. The other 40%, the drivers either attempted or successfully ripped us off. Watch out.

Leaving Shanghai, China through stormy and turbulent clouds.

Approaching ICN – Incheon International Airport. I love Korea.

Tainted milk and collapsed buildings. Just another day in Shanghai.

Entire 13-story building tips over intact – kills one person,  a couple days ago in Shanghai, China. Hard to believe this  same city has built some of the tallest, most advanced skyscrapers, and is host of the 2010 World Expo.

Discovered in current investigation – plot of land was sold for 1/3 the cost of similar parcels in 2003. Cause of collapse suspected to be substandard foundation materials and excavation underneath the building for a garage.  How did the developers receive permits? Corruption and corner-cutting is rampant in construction in Shanghai.

This is my favorite photo in Shanghai, China. My palms sweat when I look at this picture. I am sitting 270 meters above the ground on the glass floor of the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The tower stands 468 meters (1536 feet) tall, and is the third tallest TV and radio tower in the world. Often called the Oriental Pearl Tower, it was the tallest structure in China from 1994 until 2007 when it was overtaken by the Shanghai World Financial Center. It remains a functional TV and radio tower.

View of the Oriental Pearl Tower from the ground before entering. Cost of admission to the highest observation deck at 340 meters was 150 Yuan ($30), a bit pricey, but still worth it.

Pretty cool picture of the cityscape from 270 meters above ground at the Oriental TV Tower. Notice the Shanghai World Financial Center in blue. It is the highest roof in the world at 487.4 meters above the 101st floor, not counting the spire.

Cityscape from 340 meters above ground at the Shanghai Oriental TV Tower. This is considerably higher than from where I took the previous picture. Notice the support beam in the upper right corner of this photo. I believe the buildings on the left side were part of the climax of Mission Impossible 3 when Tom Cruise swings from building to building.

My friend Eun Mi staying close the walls on this floor, which is 270 meters above the ground. This floor was really scary since it wasn’t fully enclosed (howling winds) and has a glass floor around the perimeter.

That’s me being a wuss. I finally mustered enough confidence to somehow get my body to the edge of for the photo opp. I couldn’t just walk to the edge. I had to crawl since it was terrifying with the glass floor and the winds.

I took this picture of the Shanghai World Financial Center with my 4 year old pocket Canon from the ground. Not bad. This structure is so incredible that this photo kinda looks fake.

From the base floor of the Oriental Pearl Tower… I had to prove to the wold that I am 179 cm tall without shoes, and weighing in at 72 kg. The thing above my head goes up and down 3 times to mash down any extra hair you’re using to cheat an extra cm or two. I first tried it first with my shoes, where I registered at 181 cm.  I guess after being at the top of the tower, lots of people want to prove how tall they are.